Sunday, July 29, 2012

I posted this photo on our Kiwi Krossings missionary blog, but thought I'd post it here as well, since I rarely post family photos:

Here we are ready to go to a fancy
dress ball put on by our stake. Missionaries, however, rarely bring
ball gowns on a mission (haha), so the best we could do was for me to
wear a black suit and for Jeff to wear what he wears every day,
(although I thought the kiwi tie was a nice touch). I haven't taken
many photos of us together so I thought I'd take a quick one before our
guests, (fellow missionary couples), came to dinner prior to the
dance.

For those of you interested: I set
my camera on a tripod, (with a diffuser on my flash to soften the
light), and we stood in front of a plain gray wall. I tweaked the
white balance to make the color 'warmer' and then I added a textured
background so it wasn't quite so boring. A few other tweaks and in 2-3
minutes I was done. I kinda like the color wash look.

Sunday, July 22, 2012

A little over a week ago we had an assignment in Hamilton, which is about an hour and a half drive south of Auckland. We arrived early for our meeting so we decided to spend a little time in the Hamilton Gardens. It was a dull, cloudy day, not very enticing for photography. But as usual, I hauled around my camera bag, mainly because I never, ever leave my camera equipment in the car, not even in the trunk. Anyway, I took very few photos, but this one I really love. I adjusted it with the 'simplify' filter in Topaz Adjust. This eliminated distracting specks of light and helped bring out the colors and reflection in the water.

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Remember, 'Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport'???? There's a line that goes, 'Play your didgeridoo, Blue'. This is a didgeridoo. It is basically a hollowed out log. The 'real' ones are hollowed out by termites, so we were told. The ones made for tourists are not and are colorfully painted. It was amazing how many different sounds he produced. Now for a few behind the scenes snaps:

Nice looking accompanist!

And one for the grandkids back home!(I was shooting in bright midday sun, trying to get a clear shot amid dozens of tourists, so not great technically, but sometimes the subject is more important than the technicalities!)

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

After the last post I thought I'd better post something pretty. This photo was taken in the dark after I finished photographing the Sydney Temple at dusk. I experimented with the amount of flash in order to light up the 'frame' (branch), in the background, without blowing out the flower in the foreground.

Monday, July 9, 2012

So, it was dusk and I was having a wonderful time photographing the Sydney Opera house from across the harbor. I was standing near some bushes, and happened to look about 8 inches next to me, and to my horror, I saw this huge spider. After I jumped about three feet I noticed there were about 6 identical, huge spiders right near where I was standing. It gives me the creeps just thinking about it now.

WELCOME FAMILY, FRIENDS & FELLOW PHOTOGRAPHY LOVERS!

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.....and I would add that pictures help us tell stories that will turn into a lifetime of memories. Pictures take us back in time to a special place, event, or help us recall a mood, a feeling, and special times with people we cherish. If you are a fellow PHOTOGRAPHY LOVER, (and aren't we all), I'd love to see what you see, and if you'd like to see more of what I see, CLICK ON MY AVATAR BUTTON TO GO TO MY WEBSITE.

And I quote:

"Photography is an art of observation. It has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them."---Elliott Erwitt

"To my mind, a picture should be something pleasant, cheerful, and pretty, yes, pretty! There are too many unpleasant things in life as it is without creating still more of them." ---Anguste Renoir,19th Century Impressionist

Search This Blog

Subscribe via email

Subscribe Now: Feed Icon

Evolution! I'M THERE!

Good for a Laugh!

BACK OFF I'M A PHOTOGRAPHER.... no wait, stay right there, now turn a little leftturn your face toward the sun, tilt your chin down, a little more, a little more, now up, okay, just hold that position,the light should be perfect,in just a couple minutes!